Guatemala raids first coca field as drug traffickers expand

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Reuters

MAY 27, 2018 / 12:23 PM / UPDATED 4 HOURS AGO
Reuters Staff

2 MIN READ

GUATEMALA CITY (Reuters) - Guatemalan anti-narcotics police have seized the first coca field and cocaine lab in the country’s history, officials said on Sunday, adding to a string of discoveries showing traffickers have expanded production into Central America.

The 1-hectare (2.5-acre) field was found Saturday in the mountainous city of Coban, north of the country’s capital, the National Police said in a statement, adding the find was unprecedented.

The value of the seizure was still being calculated, said Pablo Castillo, a police spokesman.

Central America has long served as a transit point for cocaine headed to the United States from South America, where most of the coca plant used to make the drug is grown.

Read more: https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-guatemala-drugs/guatemala-raids-first-coca-field-as-drug-traffickers-expand-idUKKCN1IS0MO?rpc=401&

[Nevernose]

1. They busted one in Mexico a couple of years ago

I suspect Guatemala was the same group’s backup plan.

Makes perfect business sense for the Mexican cartels. why serve as the middle man? They’ve already cornered the North American market on heroin and meth (virtually all American supplies are grown/manufactured in Mexico now). Weed is mostly American now, and used to be a huge source of revenue. The last time I was in Mexico — and I’m not making his up — a guy asked me to smuggle marijuana IN to Mexico because it was such higher quality.